The Rod of Asclepius
by Morag MacPherson
Summary: Another storage closet, another dimension? Set during Another Side of the Sky, Buffy and the Doctor slip into the Stargate universe and a whole new set of problems. BuffyTen, crossover with BtVS and SG1.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One 

Disclaimer: Doctor Who is the property of the BBC and lately Russell T. Davies. Buffy belongs to Joss Whedon and those nasty old men at Fox whom I'd rather not mess with. Stargate SG-1 comes from MGM and Brad Wright among others. See my name in there? Nope.

Timeline: This story takes place during that sixty year block that I glossed over between chapters three and four of "Another Side of the Sky". It may be a bit AU so far as the rest of Tempus Frangit is concerned, I haven't decided yet. Buffy's about twenty-five years old, so it's before the Beeyadeen Kibra incident she tells Spike about in "Better With Two". Thus our characters here are still-slightly-stuffy Tenth Doctor and still-slightly-spacey Buffy. In the Stargate universe, it's early season four.

* * *

The door eased open into the darkness. A blue light shone briefly until the lights switched on. "Storage closet."

Buffy's head popped out of the door just beneath the Doctor's. "'All of space and time,' he said. And yet again, we crash land in the storage closet." She stepped out ahead of him and looked around. "Pretty big storage closet. Very tarp-y."

"At least it's not a sewer."

"Touché." Having found a door handle, Buffy jiggled it, causing alarms to blare and orange lights to flash. The Doctor stumbled and grunted as she jumped backwards into him and the pair landed on their rears.

"Well, looks like someone's noticed us," asserted the Doctor as Buffy pulled him up.

"Want to go back in the TARDIS?"

"Nah." He kicked the door shut. "She's not giving me any new information, and anyway, where's the fun in that?"

She took his hand and looked up at him. "Keys all hidey?"

"What kind of an amateur do you take me for?" The Doctor grinned and squeezed her hand as a trio of armed guards stormed the room, assault rifles at the ready.

The lead man shouted the traditional armed guard greeting. "Hands on your heads and get down!"

The fellow to his left supplied the customary follow-up order. "Identify yourselves!"

Familiar with the routine, it was all the pair could do not to roll their eyes, but they knew that would only exacerbate the situation. "Hello, hello, no need for all the shouting. I'm the Doctor, and this is my companion, Buffy. We come in peace."

"Sure, snakehead, get down and stay down!" The third guard provided a novel twist on the usual lines, and the Doctor's eyebrows quirked.

Buffy frowned and pushed her fingers into her hair. "'Snakehead?' Doctor, you said my hair looked fine before we left."

"It does. Lovely, in fact, I like the twist you added today." He gave her an appreciative smile, which she returned.

"Shut up you two!" Ah, a return to familiar ground.

Buffy smirked. "Oh, yeah. We're all shut. Now it's time to take us to your leader."

The Doctor scowled as the guns lowered. "Dammit Buffy, you know I've always wanted to say that."

"And one of these times you're going to beat me to it." Slowly, with erect posture and hands still up, Buffy approached the guards, noticing the MP patch on their sleeves. "Hi boys, no need to worry, just lead on." With a brief double take, the first guard nodded, and cuffed his oddly amenable quarry.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two 

Major General Hammond slouched slightly in his chair as he looked up from the report. In any other man, it was the equivalent of stretching out on the table for a long nap. "What exactly are they, what's the box, where did they come from, and how the hell did they get in?"

Doctor Frasier answered first. "The woman, Buffy, won't give us a last name. She's human, and judging by her speech, I'm reasonably certain she's from Earth. We're looking for records about her now. She's normal, so far as I can tell, although she was dismissive when I asked about the numerous scars on her body, which include blade marks and teeth marks but very few signs of stitching." The slides changed to a new set of records. "The male identifies himself only as 'the Doctor,' and is an alien, a fact that he volunteered after I noticed his second heart and binary circulatory system. He's been evasive about identifying exactly where he's from, but he does appear to be friendly. I got a long enough look at his MRI scan to show that there wasn't a Goa'uld inside him before Buffy used some sort of device to disable the machine. We haven't gotten it back online yet."

"'Some sort of device' Doctor?"

Major Sam Carter hesitated before replying. "Unfortunately, she replaced it in his jacket pocket before we could confiscate the item. We've since confiscated the jacket." A slide of the brown pinstriped jacket with various comparison measurements popped up.

Hammond palmed his face. "And the device?"

"We're sure it's in there somewhere." At the general's look, Carter continued, reading from a list as various slides clicked by. "So far we've pulled out two packages of candy, a piece of paper that says whatever the holder thinks it says, three bananas, a paperback copy of 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,' a ball of string, two vials of different unidentified substances, a catnip mouse, forty dollars and thirty-eight cents, fifteen British pounds, and a number of items that appear to be currencies we haven't yet identified. Also, a pair of glasses, which is interesting, given that he has 20/2 vision."

"20/2?" O'Neill suddenly perked up.

"Yes."

"So his pockets are…" fished Hammond.

"Bigger on the inside. Yes. That's just the left front pocket by the way. If we assume the same effect about that police box, then it may very well be his mode of transport. He's obviously from a highly advanced race, able to manipulate dimensions with an exactitude not even the Asgard can manage." Carter's voice was racing.

"After the police box lock broke a trillium drill bit, Major Carter asked me to fire upon it with my staff weapon. This tactic also failed to open the box's doors. I believe this durability is odd in such a construction." Teal'c rested his hands upon the table.

Hammond leaned back. "I see. And the human girl is with him because?"

Frasier closed her notes. "They called themselves 'companions'. I'd say they're either lovers or spouses, and despite her scars, I don't think the relationship is in any way coerced or abusive."

Hammond sighed. "Is there anything else I should know?"

Frasier and Carter exchanged a look before Carter replied. "Yes. When we took the copy of 'Huck Finn,' the Doctor asked us to take care of it because it was signed by the author." A slide displaying the signature compared with a known genuine example flashed onto the screen.

General Hammond blinked, then blinked again. As if to taunt him, the signature sat opposite the copyright page announcing the copy's 1963 printing date.

Daniel Jackson had stood up and was tracing the two signatures with his fingers. He turned around, speechless.

O'Neill filled in the silence. "So, yeah, just your basic time-traveling super-advanced alien. With blonde girl. Another day at the shop."

"All right, I'll admit my curiosity is aroused. Bring them in and let's see what we can learn from our most recent trespassers."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three 

Buffy picked at the bandage on her arm. "Does 'take me to your leader' sound anything like 'take me to have needles poked in me'?"

"Not in this language." The Doctor paced. He really wanted to examine the computers in the infirmary, but for one they'd taken the sonic screwdriver, and his jacket, not to mention that Buffy knew he felt naked prancing about in his shirtsleeves like this and kept staring at him. Also, there was the small matter of the armed guard who glared at him any time the Doctor moved towards that side of the room.

Buffy stuck her tongue out at the Doctor. "How did you convince her to spare your veins?"

The Doctor hopped up on the bed next to Buffy and whispered. "Oh, little psychic suggestion. She thinks one of yours is one of mine. Can't have vials of my blood floating around the place, altering the development of human civilization."

Buffy pasted a kiss on his cheek, causing it to redden. "You're welcome sweetie. Speaking of which, is this the right Earth? Place seems," she shuddered, "off."

"I was wondering the same thing myself Buffy. I mean, it's impossible, but it would explain some of the readings the TARDIS was giving me once we landed. If so, I have no idea how we got here, or why the TARDIS still has full power." He rubbed his jaw. "Then again, this doesn't look like a UNIT or Torchwood installation, but of course, we are in the States." He clapped his teeth together and lowered his voice. "Your territory. "

"Goody." Buffy flexed her shoulders. "I just love working with the military, you know me."

The nameless, humorless guard listened to his radio crackle out orders to take them to the briefing room. Following him, Buffy noted the route to the room and the various alarm buttons at regular intervals in the facility, as well as the wall markings identifying the space as "SGC," whatever that meant. The Doctor kept an eye on the 'Emergency Access' and 'Authorized Personnel Only' doors and their respective locks. High security, but nothing Buffy couldn't break open in a pinch. Distressing both of them was how much further from the storage closet and the TARDIS they were being led.

Yet another grey-green door opened to a sleek and bare conference room occupied by five people, all in military garb. The Doctor nodded at Major Carter as he sat next to Buffy, who clasped his hand discretely beneath the table.

The bald man at the head of the table spoke. "Hello, my name is General Hammond, this is Colonel Jack O'Neill, Doctor Daniel Jackson, and Mr. Teal'c, a consultant. I believe you've already met Major Carter."

"Hello." The Doctor waved at the group. Buffy chuckled and also waved.

"Hi. He's the Doctor. Just 'the Doctor'. I'm Buffy. How can we help you?"

Hammond looked down on the pair. "Well, you've trespassed on a top secret military installation three hundred feet below ground accompanied by an alien of unknown origin and an indestructible British police box. Needless to say, we're concerned about your intentions."

Scratching his head, the Doctor spun his chair around. "Oh geeze. We're not in Utah are we?"

The SG team exchanged looks. "Colorado," provided Jackson.

"Doctor!" After a second, the general caught himself and added, "Doctor Jackson, that is, some discretion please." He sighed and muttered, "This is going to become very confusing very quickly, isn't it?"

Buffy offered the older man a sympathetic nod. "It's okay, the Doctor's just a little frazzled over a close scrape we had with Brigham Young a few weeks ago."

"Buffy!" The Doctor gave her a short glare and then tilted his head towards Hammond as if to say, "What he said."

Daniel Jackson jumped into the conversation. "Okay, I'm confused. A confrontation at the university?"

"No, with the man. Long story, last time I ask the Doctor if we can play 'Oregon Trail' ever again." The Doctor rolled his eyes at Buffy and shook his head, but she continued on. "Anyway, you know he's an alien and you know I'm not. The box is our ship, we travel through time and space, we've got no intentions of hurting anyone, and if you need us to scoot, just let us back in the box and we're already scooting. We're just travelers, passing through."

Daniel leaned towards them. "I think we'd all feel a little bit more comfortable if you'd tell us what kind of an alien you are, Doctor."

Buffy and the Doctor exchanged a long look. "They know about aliens," Buffy offered.

"I'm pretty sure the big fella is one," agreed the Doctor. Teal'c shifted in his chair.

"So, I guess, they've probably never even heard of you, it can't hurt too much."

The Doctor winced. "Oooh, don't say that. Never say that. Still…" he trailed off and squeezed her hand, and they turned back to the table. "I'm a Time Lord."

Teal'c's scowl deepened. "What is a Time Lord?"

Buffy pointed her thumb at the Doctor. "He is."

O'Neill looked like he had a rotten taste in his mouth. "Pretty presumptuous sort of name."

The Doctor shrugged and tilted his head from side to side. "Oh, yeah. Unless of course, you're the guardian of time." He met the colonel's steady gaze. "Which I am."

"Oh." Daniel shifted his glasses on his nose.

Jack stared at Buffy. "And you actually buy this load of horse-hooey?"

Buffy brushed an imaginary speck off of her shoulder. "Our first date was on a planet seven galaxies away with two suns in the sky. We stopped a local warlord from blowing the whole thing up. The next date was Woodstock. He backs his horse-hooey up pretty well."

"Ah." Jack twirled his pen in his fingers. "And how was Woodstock?"

"Muddy, but fun. We ate lunch with a group of students from Caltech and neither of us remember much after that." The grin the couple shared was enough to make the rest of the room feel like they were going to blush from the memory.

"What planet would that make you from?" asked Carter.

"Gallifrey. Of course, that doesn't matter, it doesn't exist anymore. I'm the last of the Gallifreyans, the last of the Time Lords. So I beg you not to break me, as there aren't any more of us coming along." He winked at Teal'c. "So what are these 'snakeheads' your lads called us when we first got here?"

Teal'c frowned. "As the 'Lord of Time,' should you not know about the Goa'uld?"

"Please, 'Doctor' will suffice, and no, sorry, I don't."

Buffy whistled the opening bars of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" as the Doctor snorted. Carter noted this but explained.

"The Goa'uld are a parasitic, snake-like race that has been enslaving the people of this galaxy for thousands of years."

"Ah, they sound charming." The Doctor pulled a pen and paper out of his pants pocket as Carter's eyes widened. "I take it you don't get on terribly well."

"You could say that," said Jack.

The Doctor jotted down a few notes. "Any impending doom? Messing about with inter- or extra-dimensional portals or forces, strange ethereal presences?"

"Not just this second." O'Neill's assertion caused Jackson to cough and Carter and Hammond to look away.

"Give it a few minutes." Jack shot Buffy a death glare, and she stared him right back. "Now is a good time to be honest. We've got some experience with this stuff. If we're here, it usually means someone's messed around with something they shouldn't have. We don't trip into alternate dimensions lightly."

The Doctor quit his scribbling and looked up. "You're aware of the massive amounts of free floating rassilite bosons in this place?"

Carter frowned. "Rassilite bosons?"

"Yeah, harmless really, but they make my nose itch. Usually get them when you're forcing a tesseract or a wormhole." The Doctor tapped his nose with his pen. "Been opening some of those by any chance, General?"

The General shook his head. "I just – do you realize how many security directives we're breaking right now?"

Buffy shook her head and waved a hand. "The Doctor and security directives are a bad combination."

"I take them as a personal challenge." The Doctor's grin seemed just left of sane.

Buffy laid her hand on his shoulder. "Best just to get it all on the table, he'll find it all out sooner or later."

"Somehow I have a feeling you're right, Miss. We will, however, expect a similar level of transparency from your side."

"We'll do what we can to help," responded the Doctor.

Hammond nodded. "Colonel, please open the blast doors." Jack moved to the wall and pressed the switch, and the embarkation room came into view.

"Doctor, Buffy, this is the Stargate. Major Carter, I trust you can provide any further necessary explanation."

"No need." The Doctor pressed his face against the window. His finger traced the outline of the gate. "Hyperconductive rings rotate, lock, then discharge to cause an Omega-Rassilon reaction. Looks like it's using constellations as a targeting system. Very clever." The Doctor chewed on his cheek. "A little bulky, you'd need gates on both sides, but I guess it works. Can I have my jacket back, I'd just like to," he pointed his hand at the gate and waved it around. "I need my little toy," he confessed.

Buffy and Jack both rolled their eyes, caught each other, and winked. Buffy's smile was wry. "In the interest of mutual understanding, General, what do you say we split up between anybody who understands even one word of what he's going to rant about and the rest of us? I'll be happy to answer what I can about the non-geek stuff."

"The non-geek stuff?" Hammond stood and looked down at the wide-eyed, smirking woman twirling around in his conference chair.

"Yeah. I'm more of a beat-stuff-up-ask–questions-later sort of a girl. I'm sure that you, me, the Colonel and the big guy have better ways of spending our time than sitting around having those three make us feel like idiots." She bounced to her feet, hands on her hips, and cast Jack a sideways glance. "Let's talk war. It'll be fun."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four 

"Elegant and clever, Samantha. I could do some fiddling, but mostly, it's brilliant, and I don't think I can aid you much more in this without giving you some information that your society will come to on its own, given enough time." The Doctor set the naqadah reactor down and pulled off his glasses with a smile.

"Thank you. But it's not enough. If their fleet shows up here again-"

"Then I have no doubt you'll find another solution. This little toy, the Stargate, your other experiments with naquadah, they already give you a huge advantage over most of the earthborn cultures of this period that I've encountered. Trust me when I say 'genius'. By comparison, your Goa'uld nemeses are downright thick, just interplanetary thieves and thugs, and that's a fight you can and will win for yourselves." He passed the sonic screwdriver over the reactor one last time, glancing up at her. "You don't happen to have any strange fob watches you've held on to for no particular reason by any chance?"

Carter furrowed her brow. "No, why?"

"Oh, no reason, just had to check. Anyway!" The Doctor spun about and grabbed one of the transparencies that Daniel had left for him while waiting for the examination of the naqadah reactor. "So what do you say these are Daniel?"

"Those are four languages we found in an old council chamber on another planet. The Alliance of the Four Great Races, from thousands of years ago. We've got a couple of translations of that alphabet, the Ancients', from Colonel O'Neill, from when-" Daniel broke off. "Long story, but the translations are accurate. The other three are from the Nox, the Furlings, and the Asgard."

The Doctor squinted and replaced his glasses. "Asgard, huh? I take it those are the Nordic looking ones."

"Yes. I've been working on this for some time, and if we compare the Asgard runes and the Ancient letters, in this section, you find that you can use them as a Rosetta stone." Daniel pointed to some relevant passages. "But the rest of them appear to be unique messages from each race, and even with those passages as a guideline, I haven't been able to make any headway.

"Aye, that sounds about right." The Doctor turned the sheets all the way around and brought them all the way up to his nose. "Where are your notes?" The Doctor took the typed notes from Daniel and frowned at them for a few minutes. Then it seemed to Daniel that the Doctor's pupils dilated then shrank to pin points for a second before he sighed. "Ah, yes. Boring stuff, intergalactic treaties with subsections and paragraph numberings and mission statements and all that." The Doctor stuck out his tongue and examined the alphabet of the Ancients again. "This lot, did they disappear mysteriously some time ago?"

Daniel's eyes widened. "Yes, they, um, they're not here anymore. They're the ones we believe built the stargate system."

The Doctor removed his spectacles and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Oh, of course they Ascended."

"We've heard that term before, the monk in that temple talked about it," said Carter.

"Glad I avoided them. Would have made my brains dribble out my eyeballs." The Doctor made a popping noise with his lips. "Ascension, the path so boring not even my people took it. You'd best be on the lookout for these Ancients though. There's usually a couple of folks in any species that have some spirit left in them even at that stage, and they can make life interesting for your huddling masses."

Daniel frowned. "The monk implied that Ascension was the path to complete peace and understanding with the universe."

The Doctor nodded and pushed off the desk. "Yeah, and how dull is that? Just sitting around existing, no discovery, nothing new, no conflicts, no responsibility. I couldn't even abide by the Time Lords' rules of non-interference, and they at least had enough spark of life left in them to take responsibility as caretakers of the time vortex and the universe." The Doctor stared off for a moment. "Which I guess in a way made us really glorified custodians, but, ah well. No, I mean, you could try it, but I don't think you'd make it too long, gathering dust among the starry host. Me, I'll live my life. Well, my lives."

Carter blinked. "If you don't mind me saying so, you're a lot different from the other advanced cultures we've encountered."

The Doctor beamed. "Why thank you. Although, all this Ascension talk does give me a thought."

"For?" asked both.

"Oh, nothing, just an end of the universe problem I've been dealing with these past few years."

Daniel removed his glasses. "You've got an 'end of the universe' problem?" He chuckled and shook his head.

"Oh yeah. You do too. Of course, long before that you've got an 'end of the earth' problem, and before you can worry about that, you've got an 'end of your life' issue to get a grip on. I've already dealt with those questions in my time, so you can leave that 'universe' one to me until you catch up, okay?" He smiled as they rubbed their eyes. "Don't worry, you're doing fine."

Carter sighed. "Thanks." She turned to the computer. "Now, as for how you got here, we used to have this mirror. It- Doctor?"

The Doctor's eyes were wide, his mouth slack, pointing to a rack of glass canisters in Carter's pile of things she wanted to discuss with him. "What are those?"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five 

"It's okay."

Teal'c looked down upon the slim girl at the other side of the gym. "I am uncomfortable making this attack."

Buffy scuffed the mat with her heel. "On little ol' me? Hey, no, great, I love men who don't like to hit women. I'm just here to prove a point to your comrade over there, and well, you're the strongest guy around. Probably were even before you had that," she scrunched her face up, "thingy put in your stomach. Which reminds me, if I punch you in the stomach…"

"With sufficient strength, it is possible to penetrate the pouch and damage the symbiote," allowed Teal'c.

Buffy gagged. "Okay. No gut shots with you."

"I do not think-"

"Oh, I'm sure you don't, I just think it's a little intimate for our first spar. Or, ever." Buffy shook out her whole body and jumped in place a couple times. "Now, c'mon, give me a good shot."

"If that is your wish." Teal'c took a deep breath and brought his staff to the ready. He approached the young woman and made a hesitant jab at her, which she blocked. They parried each others' blows, the force and speed increasing as Teal'c became more comfortable with her reactions.

"Your moves are efficient."

"Thank you sir. You're not so bad yourself." She nocked her staff behind his knee to pull it out from under him, but he recovered and swung the staff down on her head so she had to roll back to dodge. She used the momentum to push herself back to her feet, then swung back at him.

The Doctor dived to the ground as he entered the room to avoid the shard of staff that was flying his way. "Whoa Buffy! Who are you fighting now?"

After her staff had broken his apart, Buffy had used the moment of surprise to throw herself at Teal'c, whom she now had pinned on his stomach with both arms behind his back and her weight resting on his bent left knee. "Oh, you know me Doctor, just a friendly little match against my new buddy Teal'c here. Uncle?"

"What do you mean by this? I am not your relation." Teal'c's breathing was quick and shallow.

"She wants to know if you surrender," provided O'Neill.

"Ah. Yes. I can see no alternative at this juncture."

"Good." Buffy pushed off, brushing her hands together before offering one to Teal'c, who accepted. "Nice work there, you almost had me at that roll."

"You showed yourself a competent fighter as well. I have not encountered a warrior of your speed or strength on this planet. I should like to see you compete against my master, Bre'tac." Teal'c gave her a slight bow at the waist.

"If he shows up, I'm happy to oblige." She wiped her brow with her t-shirt. "So, Jack, believe me now?"

"If Teal'c called you a competent fighter, you're probably a force to be reckoned with, I'll give you that." Jack crossed his arms.

"What, you told him about being a Slayer?" The Doctor had gotten back to his feet and came up behind his companion.

"Oh, Jack had it in his head that I was the onboard POA."

"I never said that-"

Teal'c asked, "What is a 'POA'," but Buffy preempted any explanation.

"You said 'yeah right,' every time I mentioned fighting off an alien, or you rolled your eyes, and all of your little questions about why the Doctor kept me around, if he kidnapped me, not to mention the other things your eyes were doing." She jutted her jaw out at him. "Dirty old man."

Jack held up his hands. "Me? Dirty old man?! You say he's nine hundred!"

Buffy fought off the urge to kick the Colonel in the shins and instead insinuated herself into the crook of the Doctor's arm. "Anyway, how'd geek-speak-o-rama go? Figure out how or why we got here?"

"Carter seems to have an inkling, brilliant scientist that she is, and by the way Colonel, she is just fantastic, but well, there's something we have to deal with first. Buffy, you're going to have to run to the TARDIS and pack a bag. I just asked the General to put her into quarantine."

Buffy pulled away. "What?"

"Yeah. There's these self-replicating scavenger machines." The Doctor wiggled his arms uncomfortably before his hands landed on his head and gripped his hair.

"You're afraid of the Replicators too?" Jack seemed unimpressed, or utterly terrified, Buffy couldn't quite tell.

"More afraid of the fact that they've almost certainly noticed the TARDIS and alerted any mother bugs in this galaxy." He looked down at Buffy as the now familiar alarms began to ring and lights flash. "We're gonna have to fix this before we go."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six 

Buffy grabbed a handful of socks out of her drawer. "I don't understand why we can't just leave," she shouted.

"Because the Replicators are a very specific type of thick that's almost clever. They know the TARDIS is more advanced technology than they've ever encountered. If it just disappears, they're going to assume that it has cloaking abilities, and come here anyway just to make sure. On their way, they'll infest this planet, and as they've been rather nice to us, I'd rather not have that happen." The Doctor was calling from the control room. "Sam, we don't have a lot of time, are you just going to goggle from the threshold or are you going to help me gather parts?"

"But it's-"

"Bigger on the inside!" called out both the Doctor and Buffy. "We know!"

"I knew, but this is- wow." Carter drifted into the console room, head spinning figuratively and physically.

"I know, she's lovely, here, haul this box out." The Doctor handed her a banker's box full of jangling items.

"What are these for?"

"Distraction. I'm going to power down the TARDIS, so she's more difficult for the Replicators to find. Still, I don't want them to be targeting any place on Earth other than this facility, so I need them to lock onto these gadgets. This way, if they actually do infiltrate the mountain, we'll have a little more time before they locate the jackpot." He twisted her back towards the door. "And some of them might actually be useful. Now shift."

Buffy hustled into the console room. "Okay, I'm packed; the back rooms are dark; anything else I should carry?"

"Yeah, take this." He handed her the extrapolator, then caressed the control panel one last time. "I shall return my love." The Doctor followed Buffy outside and locked the door behind him. He turned the screwdriver to setting 376a and flashed it at the TARDIS.

"Ow! Warn me next time!" Buffy's key, normally kept warm by her body heat in her back pocket, suddenly flared hot, then was painfully cold.

"Sorry Buffy. The keys are the only thing that will turn the TARDIS back on now, don't lose it."

"Never have before, have I?" Buffy and the Doctor shared a long look before he nodded and hugged her. "We'll beat this and we'll get home."

"Of course we will." The Doctor pressed a kiss to her forehead. Sam tried not to watch the two strangers suddenly clinging to each other, sensing in their abrupt affection the very real peril that faced the planet. After a few moments she felt obliged to remind them of this danger and coughed. "Right." The Doctor released Buffy and they followed Carter back to her lab. Behind them, workers began assembling a quarantine crate around the TARDIS made from the same material as the iris.

Daniel relieved Carter of her burden. "Find anything useful in there?"

"A couple things." She explained the Doctor's distraction plan to him while the Doctor and Buffy experimented on one of the Replicator units with the sonic screwdriver and a deschal resonator.

"Anything yet?"

Buffy frowned. "Sounds like… Mexican radio?"

"No, that's not right." The Doctor hit the side of the resonator with the heel of his palm.

"Much better. But… too fast, I can't understand it."

"Here, give it to me." The Doctor took the receiver from Buffy and held it to his ear. "Childish gibberish. It's pulling atoms out of the glass, still trying to replicate. At least a silica Replicator will be easy to disable. 'Awaiting input command'? That could prove useful."

General Hammond entered the room. "Do you have a plan yet to get rid of the holy hell you've brought down upon us?"

The Doctor grimaced. "Working on it."

Buffy turned to the General. "He's listening to one of its internal monologues right now."

"Ah, yes. Dammit. It did send a signal." The Doctor scribbled down a variety of numbers. "Do we know where they originated from yet?"

"No, Doctor," responded Carter. 

"Well, then these coordinates of the responders to its call aren't going to be very useful because I have no frame of reference." He slid the papers down the table and tilted his head to look up at Hammond. "Any sign of your Asgard friends yet?"

Hammond replied, "Colonel O'Neill disappeared in a flash of white light about five minutes ago. We're expecting his return with reinforcements any time now."

"Good." The Doctor put down the receiver and rummaged through the banker's box, withdrawing a box the size of a laptop battery. He pointed the sonic screwdriver at it, then handed it to Carter. "Sam, you have a hookup to satellite telemetry here, right?"

"Of course."

"Wire this into it. When a Replicator ship enters the system the red diode will light up." Sam took off with the box, and the Doctor returned to listening to the resonator.

Hammond watched the array of activity before him. "I just hope I'm putting my trust in the right place."

"Oh, you are." Buffy put a hand on the General's shoulder and squeezed. "Just give him a whiff of global destruction and then he gets really creative."

Hammond pulled the girl's head down so he could whisper in her ear. "I've had to alert various factions of our government to the impending danger and your presence. I've been advised to keep you two under guard and to respond to any of your requests with caution. Men whom you'd rather not meet are on their way here, and when they arrive things will become considerably messier."

Buffy's eyes widened. "Why are you telling me this?"

Hammond sighed. "Because I've learned over the past few years that when Major Carter and Doctor Jackson believe there is only one solution to a problem, they are usually correct. And they seem to think very highly of your Doctor." Buffy and Hammond watched Jackson assemble machinery to handwritten notes in the Doctor's scrawl. "Also, you remind me of my daughter and the thought of you in NID custody turns my stomach." He gave her a wink and let his gentle hold on her neck go, turning to face her. "By deferring to Major Carter's judgment regarding these technical matters, I am obeying the order for caution, but I cannot disobey any direct orders I receive regarding you. Do you understand?"

"I do General. Thank you."

There was a flash of white light and then Jack and Thor appeared in the lab. Buffy shrieked, jumped back and landed in Daniel's arms. "Miss us much?" asked Jack.

Thor turned to the Doctor. "Time Lord?"

"Yes, that's me. Thor, I presume?"

Thor tilted his head and slowly blinked. "Your species had destroyed itself and severed all ties with our dimension."

The Doctor stood and drew to his full height. "Yes, and no. I'm the last survivor of Gallifrey, and since the end of the war, I seem to keep stumbling across stray connections of the old tapestry."

Thor looked to the humans around them. "Then for their account, you will reverse your senate's decision? You will help us?"

The Doctor knelt and crossed his arms over his chest. "I'll have no part in genocide, but I swear I will do my best."

Breathless, Carter ran into the lab. "General! Doctor!"

"What, Major?"

"Sir, the diode exploded." She turned to Jack. "They're here sir."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven 

Jack's tongue swiped along the front of his teeth, his arms crossed. "I really don't like that I can't understand those two."

Buffy looked over at him. "The TARDIS is translating for me, and I'm still barely getting the gist of what's going on. Trust me, just let them hack it out with the technical terms and then we get to whack the bad guys."

"It goes in and hijacks your brain?" Jack shuddered. "Didn't like that when it happened to me."

Buffy shrugged. "You get used to it. I forgot all about it until you pointed out that they're speaking Asgardian or whatever." She blew on the modified chip and inserted it into Teal'c's staff weapon, which immediately charged. "Of course, it just makes me resent all those years of high school French even more."

Teal'c's eyes narrowed. "Are you currently speaking English?"

"What passes for it in California." Buffy winked at them. "Doctor, prototype is up!"

Sam popped up over her rocket. "We're set over here too."

The Doctor wandered over to Carter and Jackson first, swiping the rocket with the sonic screwdriver. "Brilliant. Thor, can you have your ship launch this right away?"

Daniel leaned over towards Buffy. "He didn't just ask Thor to shoot the rocket out his nose, right?"

Buffy grinned and tousled Daniel's hair. "You're getting closer." She leaned back. "I could get used to this language genius thing." 

In the meantime the rocket had disappeared from the conference room in a flash, only to be replaced on the table with a variety of new components for Buffy and the group to familiarize themselves with. The Doctor's speech returned to English. "Great. The rocket should distract the Replicators for an hour or so, mimicking the signature of the TARDIS and hyper-jumping around the system."

"But there's nothing in there they don't already have, right?" Jack remained suspicious of this new alliance.

Carter shook her head. "Not one bolt. And when they do finally assimilate it, there's an overriding command in there which boots a new primary process for them."

"What's that?" asked Buffy.

Carter beamed. "Provide a proof for P equals NP. And hey, if they break out of the cycle, at least we'll have a mathematical breakthrough at the end of the day."

Jack and Buffy stared at her. "So?"

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Basically, we gave them a really hard problem to devote processor time towards. It won't completely stop the replication drive, but this will slow their spread considerably as it disseminates among them, until they figure it out."

Buffy hefted the staff. "Which is when this baby comes in?"

"No, no, these parts are for the long term treatment, and the rocket was the medium term solution." Buffy passed it to him for review. "This here is our short term friend, the isec particles will clog their works right up, worse than a lifetime of eating chips and watching telly all day." He adjusted the staff using the screwdriver, then returned it to Buffy with a satisfied grin. "Okay, let's give it a whirl. Thor?"

Thor gestured, and Buffy was teleported off. The SG team jumped up, shouting "Hey!"

The Doctor frowned. "What?"

Jack grabbed the Doctor by the collar and shoved him against the wall. Behind Jack was the even more alarming sight of Teal'c's looming scowl. "Where did you send Buffy?"

"To test the modified staff weapon, of course." The Doctor kept his voice calm.

On the other hand, Jack couldn't keep from raising his. "Just like that? No armor, no briefing, just throw the little girl into the middle of that bug storm?"

"Yes. She's very good at this sort of thing."

Teal'c stared down at the Doctor. "She has never before encountered the Replicators, nor an Asgard ship, and she has not eaten or rested since your arrival on our base more than twelve hours ago. These are not the proper preparations for sending a warrior alone into battle."

Daniel worked his way between the three men. "Doctor, we're just a little alarmed at how quickly this is all going. We were expecting the weapon to be tested here before you sent anyone into the thick of things, isn't that right Jack?"

Jack's grip didn't loosen. "Something like that. She'd better come back."

The Doctor looked the colonel squarely in the eye. "And she will. If there's one thing I know about that girl, it's that she always comes back." After a beat, O'Neill let the Doctor go. "We don't have the luxuries of time or confined test subjects."

"Then you should have sent me or Teal'c."

The Doctor's tone was soft. "I wouldn't have had the same assurance."

"Please, she is returning to us now," Thor informed the group.

Buffy flashed back into the room, bearing the staff and a Replicator corpse, which she tossed at her companion. "Kills 'em dead Doctor." She passed the staff to Teal'c. "The lag time's about twenty-five seconds from strike to shut down. Do not let yourself be surrounded. If we're going to be planting the long term solution, I'd recommend a team of at least six, as many as ten men." With a sigh, she collapsed into a chair.

Thor tilted his head. "As the ships in this system are all modified Asgard war vessels, six member teams would be ideal for their layouts."

"You heard the little grey man. We'll need at least five more of those bad boys." Buffy stripped her jacket off to reveal a long, wide gash down her left shoulder, groaning. "Could someone call Doctor Frasier, this is going to need a field dressing." Daniel and Carter rushed to her side, the Doctor prevented from doing so by O'Neill's glare and Teal'c's sturdy frame. "And a Diet Dr. Pepper with ice would be nice too."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight 

The world was blurry for a few seconds, so Buffy closed her eyes, pressed her face into the pillow and bit back nausea while her eyes and inner ear settled an argument over exactly which direction was up. The wave passed, and she opened her eyes again to see a sideways version of Doctor Frasier. "You drugged me."

"You left a pint of blood on my floor. I think we're even." Janet smiled. "I've got your soda if you want it."

"Shouldn't have drugged me." Buffy locked her eyes back shut. "What did you use, don't usually…" She gave up the pursuit for the words as futile and instead elected to shake her right fist in the air.

"It's derived from a plant we found on another planet. We use it on Teal'c when he needs it." Her eyebrows arched. "We use half the dose we gave you on Teal'c, and even so, you're up early."

One of the doctor's first statements finally registered with Buffy. "Soda!" Janet placed the straw between the girl's lips and Buffy drank to quell the sandstorm in her mouth. "Thank you. Still shouldn't have drugged me. We don't have time. Where's the Doctor?"

"Still working on his big solution. He's been in and out of here, despite Colonel O'Neill's and Teal'c's best efforts." Janet shook her head.

"Why's that?"

Janet gave Buffy another sip from the soda. "They were a little disturbed by his treatment of you. General Hammond wants to have a talk with you as well."

"Treats me fine. The bug got lucky. I'll be good to go in a few minutes." Buffy twitched the shoulder and through considerable effort showed no sign of pain. "Staples?"

"Yes, the Doctor was insistent on that point."

"Good man. Stitches get itchy."

Janet nodded. "Normally I'd say that you're an idiot for thinking you could get back into the fight so quickly. However, after an hour, your wound looks like it's been healing for four days."

"After an hour?!" Buffy lunged to her feet. "Definitely ready to go."

Janet placed a hand on her shoulder. "No Buffy. General Hammond needs to talk to you first. I can arrange for that meeting to occur over a meal, but you're not leaving this infirmary without his clearance and mine."

"Food?" Buffy wobbled on her feet. Slayer healing took its own price. "Okay, but quick, please?"

Doctor Frasier handed her the drink. "I'll go let him know that you're awake."

A few minutes later the General Hammond came to her bedside, Jack and Daniel bearing a tray behind him. "Hi guys. I'm feeling much better now, thanks. How's the fight going?" She sniffed the contents of the sandwich, picked it up and took a showy bite.

"So far the combined tactics of the Asgard and the Doctor have kept the Replicator ships from entering the Earth's orbit, and assembly continues on the weapon plans that the Doctor and Thor have supplied." Hammond watched the girl swallow. "However, due to his actions, I am beginning to regret your advice about trusting that Doctor. His recklessness could have easily cost you your life. I don't know how I feel about entrusting six billion lives to that sort of attitude."

"It's just a big misunderstanding." Two carrot sticks disappeared into her mouth. "He and I talked it over, it was a good plan, I missed the one that got me. I didn't tell these guys because I figured if we didn't request it, you wouldn't have to treat it with caution."

O'Neill crossed his arms. "He throws you to the wolves like that often?"

Buffy gave him a predatory smile. "Being thrown to the wolves isn't such a bad thing if you're a tiger." She made slurping noises with her soda, poking at the ice with the straw. "Or if you have a really cool laser weapon."

Daniel sat on the bed. "We know that you're a very talented fighter, Buffy. But there's such a thing as Stockholm syndrome, and I think that because of your relationship with him, you're underestimating the kinds of danger that he places you in."

Chuckling, Buffy dug into her jello. "You guys should have seen the kind of danger I got into before I met the Doctor. If anything, I'm way more cautious than I used to be." She licked the spoon, then balanced it upright on her fingertips. "So, the gist of this is that you think the Doctor is a mad scientist who pushes people into dangerous situations they don't understand." She stared at the point of light on the spoon's bowl, then met Jack's stare. "You're right. He does it all the time. The thing about the Doctor is he doesn't see people the way we think we are. He sees us the way we can be. So if he thinks that I can fight my way through a ship full of robot bugs to make sure that his latest toy will save the world, you better believe there's gonna be a lot more dead robo-bugs when I'm done. He says you guys have the know-how to beat your gold enemies, then you've got it. Sometimes you just need to hear him say it first." She flipped the spoon up and it landed bowl first clattering in the jello cup, and looked in turn at the three men by her bedside. "He says we're going to win this. Does that work for you?"

Hammond pressed his lips together. Daniel looked down. O'Neill kept his eyes locked with Buffy, then nodded. "Sounds like a plan to me." With those words, the tension lifted out of the room.

Buffy flexed her shoulder and found it much less irksome, if still a little stiff. "Can I please shower up and get back to work then, General?"

"It sounds like we all have our work cut out for us. You're free to rejoin us pending Doctor Frasier's clearance. Let's all get on with this." Hammond gave her an approving nod and the men turned about to leave. 

"Just, take care," Daniel added softly.

Buffy caught his hand. "I will. And next time, Jack, I'll wear body armor."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine 

The Doctor pulled his glasses down and rubbed his eyes as warm air caused the hairs at his nape to rise. "Actually breathing down my neck isn't going to help anything, Colonel."

"When did I get promoted?" The Doctor turned to hug his companion tightly. "Hey, watch it, I've still got staples." His eyes widened, and he pulled her collar up to peer at her wound. "It's okay, Doctor, Doc Frasier took good care of me, no need to give everyone else here a show."

Jack's cough was hardly subtle. "How's the weapon coming, Doc-tor?"

The Doctor's left eyebrow lifted in Jack's direction, while Buffy arched hers. After a moment, they separated. "Why does it always have to be weapons, Colonel? Couldn't I have just built a work of art, or a medical device, or something else entirely?"

Jack pursed his lips. "Invasion force in the sky, your friend already wounded, I guess I'm just hopeful. I've got this whole thing where I like life."

"Me too Jack, me too." The pitch of his voice rose, wheedling. "Thor, is it up yet?"

"It walks, Doctor." The smaller alien moved aside, revealing their latest creation. Thankfully, Jack wasn't currently armed.

"What the hell?!" Buffy moved to hold the colonel back, and Teal'c jumped up, pushing his chair back.

"Don't be fooled by appearances Colonel. It's not a Replicator. Similar, derived from, even the same species. But it doesn't replicate, it can't." The spidery creature minced across the table, and the Doctor smiled down upon it. "I messed about with the programming, the frameworks and pathways. It is technologically superior to the Replicators above, and so, so irresistible."

Jack moved closer to it, looking it over, under, and around. After several seconds, he met the Doctor's eyes. "Bugs Bunny." The Doctor nodded, and Jack smiled, guffawing. "Our planet's best defense against the Replicators is throwing a wig and some lipstick on one and saying 'Hey there, big boy,'?"

"Amor vincit omnia. Once she gets in there, they'll attempt to replicate with her, advanced technology and all, but they won't be able to do it, her little kirons and pathways will interact with it, and they'll only be able to reproduce sexually." The bug preened, and the Doctor patted it on the head, while he and Buffy shared a meaningful look. "They'll be chasing this minx and her offspring across the universe. Might even develop pop music given enough time."

Daniel and Sam had approached the table. "'Given enough time?' How much time are we talking about?" asked Daniel.

Buffy released Jack's arm, edging closer to the Doctor. "That's the rub. We've got five ships in orbit. We can only leave two alive. One as an escort for her, one to chase."

Thor blinked at the creature, fascinated. "The Asgard are proud to contribute our efforts to this planet's defense. The Doctor has kindly engineered a number of missiles capable of eliminating the other vessels. I have two cruisers due to arrive in this system within twenty minutes capable of delivering the missiles."

"Also, I've got to get to the Mother Bugs on both of those ships. Give them a little selective amnesia about the TARDIS. Shouldn't be too hard." The Doctor loosened his collar, Buffy placing her hand on his back.

"I'm going with him. But we'll need-" Buffy's eyes widened as the door opened behind the SG team. "General, hey, hi, I was just going to call for volunteers." Buffy waved the General over.

General Hammond entered, then raised the binder he carried over his face. "Colonel O'Neill?"

"Yes sir?"

"There appears to be a functioning Replicator in this lab."

"No sir. It's a-" Jack stopped, at a loss for words.

"It's a Reproducer, sir," Carter provided with a smile as Hammond lowered the binder and approached the group. "The Doctor's going to completely change a species' development."

Hammond eyeballed the Doctor, who managed to look sheepish. "That's all well and good, but we've got a issues. I have stalled them as long as I could, but NID is here, and the President is insisting that any plans we have first must be vetted by them. Thor, Doctor, Miss Summers, if you could follow me and SG-1 to the conference room, I apologize about this in advance."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten 

The climate in the conference room was somehow icy. Buffy decided to bounce in through the door, and heard Jack stifling a chuckle.

"Thor, Doctor, Miss Summers, I would like you to meet Colonel Frank Simmons, the deputy sent by the NID and the President to confirm our support of your plans." Hammond's face scrunched and for a moment Buffy thought he might vomit. The colonel offered his hand to Buffy, and she gave it a slightly too firm shake. To be fair the man didn't even wince. The Doctor's grip was less than half hearted. Looking at Thor, Simmons hesitated.

"Such physical formalities are not necessary, Colonel Simmons," offered Thor. Buffy watched the Doctor's eyes roll discretely at the obvious relief on the colonel's face.

"Also present is my SG1 team, I trust they need no introduction." The General was approaching his chair.

"Absolutely sir. Please, let's be seated." Colonel Simmons took the seat opposite Hammond, while Thor and Buffy framed the Doctor and SG-1 occupied the other side. "I understand that time is of the essence, but I need to make sure that these plans General Hammond's presented to me are in humanity's best interest."

"And I'm making sure they're in this universe's best interest." The Doctor's tone was flat.

Simmons cleared his throat. "It seems that you've devised a number of strategies and weapons capable of dealing with this threat, but there hasn't been any assault on the invading ships yet. I have to admit I'm a little perplexed by the delay."

Carter leaned forward. "We've already deployed several delaying strategies that the Doctor and the Asgard provided for us."

"Asgard ships will shortly destroy the majority of the Replicator fleet," added Thor.

"I hear that word, 'majority,' and wonder why it's necessary." Simmons was ignoring the rest of the room and staring at the Doctor. "Why are you not using your capabilities to destroy the entire threat to this planet, instead of using it as bait for this half-baked scam that's only just been revealed to me?"

The Doctor sighed into the long pause. Daniel sensed his reticence and coughed to interrupt. "If we simply destroyed the fleet, more would come for us. The Doctor's plan not only stops this invasion, it prevents any more."

"But now they have weapons which can wipe the Replicators out, weapons I notice he's only supplied to the Asgard. If you gave us the plans, we'd be well equipped to defend ourselves against any future Replicator invasions."

"It'll also assist the Asgard with their war against the Replicators," added Jack.

"Colonel O'Neill, I'm stunned that you'd let these aliens use Earth as their lab rat, especially after his cavalier treatment of this young girl, over your objections." Buffy held her breath. Jack leaned back in his seat.

The Doctor shook his head. "Such a big universe your world has been given to explore, and your mind so small."

"Excuse me!" Colonel Simmons straightened his shoulders.

"Have you ever committed genocide, Colonel?"

"Of course not."

"I have." All eyes were now on the Doctor. "I've watched worlds burn. I made it happen." Buffy struggled against her urge to reach for the Doctor, to comfort him. "Civilizations far greater than yours fear me."

Simmons' eyes narrowed. "Are you threatening me?"

"Not if I don't need to." The Doctor gave Buffy a passing glance. "This isn't your war. I apologize that I've brought it here. I am doing my best to fix it. But I will not commit an unnecessary genocide."

"They're just machines."

"They're machines with the capability to become one of the most glorious races this universe has ever seen! All I have to do is to show them that destruction is not the only way, that there is greater beauty in creation, in innovation, than there is in mindless replication." The Doctor's voice grew raspy. "And in the face of this, you'd rather embrace destruction. What sort of destiny does that leave for you?"

"One free of this menace which has plagued even our most powerful allies." Simmons and the Doctor stared at each other, before the colonel finally looked down. "You're right, this isn't our war. I see no reason to further assist you in it."

Hammond spoke up. "You want us to stand down while our allies fight for our very existence?"

"If they insist on being so obstinate and placing our planet needlessly at risk, then yes. We'll plan our own defense."

"Without the Doctor we don't have any defense!" Major Carter was shouting.

"We appear to have twelve of these modified staff weapons. I'm sure we can put them into larger scale production quickly." The Colonel's smile was greasy.

Buffy stared at the man. "I built one of those. I want it back."

He turned to her. "Ah yes, Miss Summers. I understand that you're human. Our nation is happy to offer you asylum from this lunatic alien's schemes that have already caused you such grievous injuries."

"I'll stick with the Doctor's plan, thank you. My staff weapon?"

The colonel licked his lips. "Made with our materials."

"Made from my staff weapon," interrupted Teal'c.

Frowning, the colonel nodded. "Fine then. It's yours. Teal'c, however, I expect you to be available to train our soldiers in their use."

The Jaffa's eyes gleamed. "Yes sir. I have a training regimen in mind. I shall first teach the rest of SG-1 in the weapon's operation."

Simmons bit his lip under the stares of the rest of the room. "Surely they've already been exposed to it."

"I would like to make sure of their expertise first before engaging anyone uninitiated." He stood to loom over the colonel. "I have not had the chance to take many human pupils under my wing. Our first exercise shall be training for me, as well."

Simmons swallowed. "Of course. No undue danger in that. Only SG-1." The last statement was a command.

"Of course." Teal'c crossed his arms.

General Hammond stood next, the rest of the room following his lead. "Then this meeting is concluded."

"Yes, General. I regret that your visitor has been so intransigent." He looked over the SG-1 team. "We cannot endanger our planet, or any more of our best and brightest in the name of preserving our enemies." He turned to Thor. "The President sends his best wishes, even though we had hoped for a better outcome of this meeting. We look forward to working with the Asgard in the future." His last remarks were pointed towards SG-1. "Whatever shows of bravery you feel the need to make, I'm sorry that the government will not support you in them. Major General?" Simmons saluted and departed.

Daniel sighed, Teal'c relaxed, Jack and Sam scowled, and Hammond shook his head. Buffy and the Doctor took each others hands. Thor tilted his head, "Shall I prepare for transport?"

Major Hammond nodded. "Teal'c, Colonel O'Neill, I trust you to keep the team safe during this training exercise. Be ready to embark within ten minutes." The team nodded and moved.

"I can see why you like those NID folk so much," Buffy muttered to no one in particular.

Hammond shook his head. "Doctor, I sure hope you know what you're doing."

The Doctor grinned in return. "I may be a madman, but today, I'm your madman."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven 

_A/N: Action time! I just wanted to take a second to thank all of the folks who've been reading and reviewing and all in all making this story such a pleasure to write. You know who you are. :) _

* * *

Buffy settled the helmet on the Doctor's head and couldn't control her grin. "What? You're the one who insisted." 

"No, Jack did, and if I've got to wear body armor, so do you. Your hair is going to be so cute after this." She donned her own helmet and looked her lover up and down. "I like the way the pants sort of give you an ass."

"Buffy!" In the helmet's shade she could see the Doctor's cheeks burning.

"You two ready then?" Daniel came over, bearing two staff weapons, but the Doctor waved.

"No, just for Buffy. I'll need my hands free." The Doctor hefted the case containing the Reproducer in one hand and held up the sonic screwdriver in his other.

"Oh, right." Daniel handed the one weapon to Buffy and clutched the other by his chest. "Well, usually they keep me in the middle, but it'll probably be you then. I'll be right behind you."

"That's right." Jack clapped Daniel on the shoulder. "I'll take point, then Buffy, then you and Jackson, followed by Major Carter and Teal'c covering our behinds. But we all cover everyone's behinds, you got that?"

"Any time Jack," blurted Buffy, causing all three men to blush. "Oh what?" She charged her weapon. "I'm more concerned about the ass-kicking right now anyway."

Jack nodded. "You stay with the Doctor. I can't believe I'm saying this, but it's vital that he survive to carry out this mission." He looked the Time Lord in the eye. "We're behind you the whole way."

"Thank you Colonel. I've got it so the delay should be down to fifteen seconds now. But that's still going to feel like a long time up there."

"All right. Thor! We're ready when you are." The rest of the SG team charged their weapons. Thor waved, and in a flash, they were onboard the Replicator ship.

"The swarm will move here quickly. Bridge is this way." Sam pointed, and Jack led the way. Sure enough, they were soon being followed by a large collection of bugs, but for now, Jack held off giving the command to fire.

Buffy watched the bugs uneasily, the metallic clicks of their legs vibrating in the staples still holding her shoulder together. Quietly and swiftly, the team moved through the ship.

A few yards from the bridge, one of the Replicators jumped at the Doctor. Daniel fired his weapon at it, but momentum and the delayed effect left the Doctor in danger. Fortunately, Carter yelled "Duck," which the Doctor did, leaving the air open for Buffy to swing her staff like a baseball bat, bashing the airborne bug into the bulkhead. It twitched for a few seconds before going still.

The Doctor met Jack's look. "Run!"

Jack nodded. "Carter, Teal'c, cover fire, let's move!" The Doctor, Buffy, and Daniel moved ahead towards the bridge as the others began firing rapidly. The Replicators rushed at first, then became more hesitant as the front lines slowed then became obstacle corpses, blocking the rush. Teal'c measured the delay in heartbeats, Sam in her head, Jack shouting the count. Yet the onslaught continued.

Daniel and Buffy were hardly happier about the situation. The Doctor took precious seconds opening the bridge, and once it was open, it was a sea of the monsters. Daniel continued firing while Buffy took the more physical approach, sweeping through the herd with her staff so that Daniel could take them out with a single blast and the Doctor could sneak past.

"Doctor! Hurry up!" Buffy picked one off of Daniel's leg and threw it into a clutch in the corner, then blasted them.

"Just a second." The Doctor struggled to apply the screwdriver to the queen machine while dodging her pincers.

"How're things going in here?" Jack and the rest of the team arrived in the bridge room, their blasts clearing out the rafters while Carter shut the door.

"We're working on it!" Daniel gasped as a Replicator claw grazed his hip. Buffy cleared it with a shot.

"You okay?"

"Fine, your left!" Daniel pushed her head down and deflected the spider with his staff. Teal'c's welcome shot began to disable the creature.

"Queen's reprogrammed and disabled, I'm releasing the Reproducer now." The Doctor pointed the screwdriver at the box, and the engineered creature popped out of it. Attention from the bugs suddenly turned to the highest technology in the room, and Jack took a moment to catch his breath.

Carter pulled out a small communicator. "Thor, this is SG-1, first objective achieved, ready for transport in thirty seconds." She looked over her friends. "We will be, right?"

The group nodded. Buffy took a large flat bandage out of her pocket as Daniel leaned against a pillar. She looked at his grimace, then pulled his pants down on his right side. "Just a bad scratch." Buffy placed the bandage over Daniel's wound. "I came prepared this time," she winked at him, putting his pants back into place. "Anybody else need one?"

"All good," panted Carter.

"I'm good," smirked Jack.

"I am unharmed," stated Teal'c.

"Just fine for now," grinned the Doctor.

Daniel's blush had almost disappeared by the time they were transported, the Doctor using the sonic screwdriver at the last moment, freeing the Reproducer to seduce the rest of the ship. He shifted his jaw as they materialized on the next ship. "We'll need to hurry. They know we're here, and pretty soon, they'll start to chase the other one."

Carter nodded. "Your girl going to be in charge of that ship so quick?"

"She's probably in charge by now. Poor thing." The Doctor started moving. "Allons-y."

The corridors seemed longer in this ship, and the going slow, as they had to fight the whole way down them. Buffy kept one arm around the Doctor, whose advanced gadgets and tall, wiry frame were a constant target for the jumping spiders. "This thing's a better club than a laser, Doctor!"

"Glad you like it so much." He kept fiddling with his sonic screwdriver, finding the occasional setting that helped slow the Replicators down.

Teal'c slipped after placing his foot down on a dying Replicator and fell into Daniel, who yelped as they hit the floor together. Buffy and Carter moved over them, providing cover fire while Jack and the Doctor helped the pair to their feet. "You okay?"

"I think so."

"There is a stinger." Teal'c leaned over and the Doctor pulled the leg fragment out of his left knee. He pulled some gauze out of the vest pocket and stuffed it into the bleeding puncture.

"We're almost there!" shouted Carter. The Doctor shifted Teal'c's weight over to Daniel as he saw the door.

"Doctor!" Buffy shouted. She had missed the bug, plunging towards at the Doctor's head, catching only out of the corner of her eye. Jack launched himself and knocked it away with his head, his helmet crunching with the impact.

"We're in, shift!" The Doctor grabbed Jack by the arms and pulled him into the bridge, setting him by the door. Carter brought up the rear, allowing him to shut the door, leaving them in a dim circle of light under the arch, the rest of the bridge black. She and Buffy began clearing out the path to the Queen, with Teal'c and Daniel providing intermittent fire.

"Doctor, how's Jack?"

"Fine, bump on the head, cut on his cheek, but we should get him out soon."

"Should get all of us out soon." Buffy tossed a glance their way. "Hold on guys, this is gonna get scary." With a quick exhalation, she jumped back a few feet, then ran towards the swarm as the rest of them shouted "No!" Buffy leapt into the scrambling blackness, a few blaster shots ahead of her. Carter and Teal'c kept firing, unsure of whether they were helping or hitting her.

Then the corpses started raining from the rafters.

There was a pulse in the dark, and a few more flashes of isec particles at high velocity. Teal'c saw a glint out of the corner of his eye, then dropped to his knees, missing the wave of Replicators that smashed against the wall above him.

Buffy emerged from the dark. "C'mon Doctor, it's now or never!" She grabbed his hand and pulled him into the black. "See if you can get us some lights!"

He heard her grunts and struggles as they fought through the path. Daniel, Carter, and Teal'c's blasts became faint. "Where the hell is it?"

"You're going up, Doctor. Get ready." He felt Buffy hoist him up by the waist and toss him into the faint orange glow of the rafters. With a gasp he grabbed hold of one.

"You coming?"

"No, finish this Doctor!" Buffy screamed. It was pain and frustration, and then the tail end of it was fresh pain. The Doctor pulled himself up and took out the screwdriver. Reprogramming the queen would be the work of only a few seconds, but Buffy was down there alone and hurt in the dark.

He bit his lips. Best to get it done. "All right, Buffy, Carter, we're through!" He shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Transport in five seconds Doctor!"

He was still waiting for a reply from Buffy when the Asgard whisked them out of their dark hell.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve 

There was warm softness around her, which was a nice change from inside of her head, where it was all ringing pain, and the rest of her which stung all over. The desert conditions in her mouth had returned, and she scrunched her face, wincing from the pain. A straw brushed against her lips, and Buffy sucked on it gratefully, then sighed. Pleasantly cool fingers brushed against her face, pushing poking itchy strands of hair out of it, and she moaned as she moved to clutch the fingers and her whole body protested.

There was a familiar chuckle. "I think it's time to drug her again."

"No," she cried, this time managing to grab the manly, hairy hand.

"It's okay Buffy, we'll still be here when you come back," soothed a woman's voice. Then it was pleasantly warm and soft in her head, and that was okay.

The next time Buffy was aware of a staple digging into her butt. She shifted onto her side, but there was now a pair of staples digging into her hip, and she grunted. The curtain to her left swished aside and an eye-patch wearing Colonel O'Neill glared at her. "Quit making so much noise."

"Jack?"

"Yes, Buffy."

"Is everyone?"

"Everyone's fine. Everybody except you and me are asleep. Thor was by a little while ago, your Doctor's plan worked out all right. He and Thor are up on the ship, making a few last arrangements." Jack turned onto his back.

"Your eye?"

"My eye's fine, it's just not going to be very pretty to look at for the next few days. Maybe I'll get a job with S.H.I.E.L.D." Buffy laughed. "Good, you know your comics."

"No, I was friends with a comic geek. But it's almost the same thing." She reached over to the table and poured a glass of water, which she sipped from. "How long was I out?"

"It's three in the morning now, so about a day and a half." He wiped her spray of water off of his face. "Thank you. You looked like raw meat when I woke up. Daniel said you'd regrown a lot of skin since we'd transported out. I still wouldn't look in a mirror quite yet if I were you." He sighed. "You're lucky to be alive."

Buffy shrugged, ignoring the pain. "I got the job done."

"The Doctor didn't even have a scratch on him."

"Like I said, I got the job done."

Jack moved back on his side, ignoring the nausea. "I can't even begin to really understand it, can I? I mean, I'm all for bravery and sacrifice, but you-" He stopped. "You don't even think about it do you?"

"I do." Buffy looked up at the ceiling. "At least when I'm doing it with him, I know it was my choice. I choose the fights. And, it's a long story, but honest, it makes a big difference. With him, I'm not a pawn any more. I'm his queen."

Jack frowned. "I'm not sure I follow you."

"That's okay." She heard the beds creak, and the pat of his feet on the floor. His weight settled next to her hip, and he took her hand. Jack O'Neill looked in her eyes, needing to know the truth.

"So it's worth it?"

She smiled up at him. "Oh yeah."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen 

_A/N: With much love to Rivrgrl and everyone who asked so nice._

Two days later, she was sitting in bed while Doctor Frasier removed the last of the staples from her side. Sam, Daniel, and the Doctor were explaining how the quantum mirror worked in words of three syllables or less, as well as Carter's theory that the mirror's destruction had allowed the TARDIS to slip into this dimension.

"We're coordinating with NID to have the pieces and the controller returned her to SG command," finished Carter.

Buffy winced as Frasier gave a final pull. "You mean we get to talk to Colonel Butt Plug again?"

Daniel grimaced. "Unfortunately, no. Senator Kinsey has requested a personal interview with the two of you."

The Doctor tousled her hair. "Apparently they'll be here in this afternoon. You feeling up to it?"

"Thank you Doctor Frasier." Buffy pulled her robe back over the flimsy hospital gown. "Maybe. Does he have to survive it?" Janet smirked at the comment while the others struggled for a truthful answer.

"That's entirely up to you," offered Jack as he, Teal'c, and General Hammond entered. "Suits me either way."

Hammond grimaced. "All parties exiting this interview intact is of course the preferred outcome." Buffy swore she saw the General wink. "I've scheduled it for fourteen-hundred."

The Doctor frowned. "We're not about to lose you folks your jobs, are we?"

Jack's mouth twisted. "A little late to be worried about that, Doctor."

Carter shook her head. "We should be fine."

"I argued to them that of course a live training mission would be the most effective education. And of course, that I had not known that the Asgard would cause you to accompany us." Teal'c smiled. "It is good to see you well again, Buffy Summers."

"Good to see you too Teal'c. I'll try to keep my mouth shut during this meeting."

"That's probably for the best," quipped Jack.

A few hours later, after a long hot shower and a large meal, Buffy sat gingerly in the conference room. She'd lost six pounds while healing from her various wounds, unable to eat quickly enough to keep up with her slayer healing. A few bruises lingered where some of the deeper gashes had torn into her flesh. Thankfully, the damage had been so extensive that she'd lost whole sheets of skin, so instead of a patchwork of scars, Buffy looked younger than ever.

Well, thankfully for her. The Doctor had been less amused by it. He held her hand tightly. Except for brief field trips to the Asgard ship and Carter's lab, he'd been by her side constantly over the last few days. Buffy knew it would take him a few days to stop hovering.

She let up a silent prayer of thanks as General Hammond excused her from standing for the Senator's entrance. "Senator Kinsey, I'm pleased to introduce you to the Doctor and Buffy Summers, our visitors who saved our planet."

The Senator nodded. "Charmed, I'm sure." He sat, the rest of the room following his lead. Except for Thor's absence, she was having disturbing flashbacks to the last time she'd sat in this seat. "I have to admit, I was skeptical."

"We caught that." The quip escaped Jack's lips even as Hammond glared at him.

"But still, we're of course quite happy that you were able to avert the threat you, ahem, inadvertently, ahem, brought down upon us Doctor. And appreciate your cooperation, despite the misgivings Colonel Simmons presented." Kinsey cast a suspicious glance at Teal'c. "I know that you all understood the true intent of his objections and orders, and it's all worked out for the best."

"So you'll be happy to work with us to send us home?" The Doctor had to hope, but the Senator's shifty smile taught him better.

"Oh, certainly, provided that you show a few signs of good will. Just a few tokens."

Daniel waved his hand. "They already saved our planet."

Jack pointed. "She almost died."

"If that's not good will, I don't know what is." Sam crossed her arms.

Kinsey held up his hands. "Oh, yes, I understand. But if the Doctor could only be so kind as to provide us with the same defense technology against the Replicators that he did to the Asgard, it would be a clear sign of friendship, and an even exchange for supplying the Quantum Mirror technology."

Buffy blinked, then groaned. "We're never going home, are we?" The Doctor rubbed her shoulders.

"Sorry, she's just a bit tired. She doesn't mean to be rude. But she has a point. I'm only leaving the staff weapons because they're mostly harmless except against the Replicators. You can go around the universe giving your enemies mild hangovers. The same is not true of the missiles I supplied to the Asgard. Anyway, your culture isn't ready for that technology."

Kinsey folded his hands together. "And who are you to judge that?"

"The one who has the technology. And it's not just me being obtuse or whatever the hell your toady called me earlier. You couldn't deploy those weapons even if you tried. If I dropped one off into Major Carter's lab right now, it would take her and your next best scientists two hundred years to reverse engineer it." He smiled over at Sam. "Not because you're not brilliant, because you are, but just because your science isn't there yet."

"No offense taken, Doctor."

The Senator sneered. "You won't even let our scientists near your ship. How do we know what they could reverse engineer or not? Hardly in keeping with fair and balanced relations. Why should we help someone who insists on keeping all of the power over us?"

The Doctor grabbed his hair. "Because it's nice. Because if I say you're not prepared for a missile, what in the world makes you think that I'll give you a time machine? Because it's the last one in existence and I don't want anyone else messing with it. Because it's my home, my refuge, and I don't let people except for the ones I really genuinely like inside of it." He frowned. "And Jackie Tyler. Because otherwise I'm going to be in your hair, messing with your military facilities and causing mutinies all over the place until you let me go back." He released his grip. "Any of those work?"

Kinsey crossed his legs. "I'm supposed to just let you threaten me then gallivant off, with your human kidnap victim in tow?"

"Oh, for the last time, he didn't kidnap me, he doesn't abuse me, and the next person to even think a thought in that direction is going to have a very angry Slayer pulling their tongue out of their throat!" Buffy had jumped onto the table and her shoulders were heaving as she shouted down on the Senator. Everyone else had jumped back from the table. Most of them were stunned. Carter had a grin on her face. Kinsey looked like he might have had an aneurysm. Teal'c offered her his hands and gently lifted her down. He walked her back to her seat, patting her on the back. "Sorry. Sore subject." She glared at the Senator. "I don't belong here any more than he does. Just let us go home."

"That was highly unusual, young lady."

"She's a highly unusual young lady, Senator." General Hammond smiled at the girl.

Kinsey frowned. "General, Doctor, this is all going on over my protest. However, I am obliged to offer these items as a token of the President's gratitude." He lifted a case onto the table and clicked it open. Insider were some shards and some dust, as well as a small controller. "I present for your temporary use the remains of the quantum mirror. They will be returned to us before you depart."

"Absolutely." The Doctor looked over the case. "Thank you, Senator."

Kinsey snorted as he rose. "As for the rest of you, your continued alliance with this alien over the rest of your species gives me even more doubts about the intent of this program. I will be watching you."

"Good day, Senator." Everyone but Buffy rose as the Senator exited. She kept glaring at him while the Doctor rubbed her shoulders. Once he was safely out of her attack range, the Doctor returned his attention to the prize on the table.

"So, how does this thing work?" The Doctor tossed the controller over to Carter, who shrugged and handed it to Daniel.

"Well, you twist this dial." Daniel shifted his glasses, frowned then apologized. "This may take a minute."


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen 

Buffy left the mess hall to find the Doctor alone, sitting at a bench in the storage closet they'd arrived in. The TARDIS had been unpacked, and the controller sat on the table in front of him. "You figured it out?"

"Daniel, Sam and I, yeah. They're headed down to that dinner."

Buffy shrugged. "Mostly calmed down now. I'm full."

The Doctor nodded. "That's good."

"So this controller, it can get us home without the mirror?" Buffy examined the device, which looked like a simplified video game controller.

"It should do the trick. I'll set it to resonate at the same frequency as the TARDIS, a TARDIS-sized hole will open in the fabric of space and time, then we'll pop home." He smiled. "Simple. Sam and Daniel, they really are brilliant."

Buffy nodded. "I like them too." Her hand sought his shoulder. "So it uses matter to tune to different dimensions."

"Yeah, that's right." He faltered. "I mean, best with non-living matter, you've been eating in my dimension so long, but I could-"

Buffy silenced him with a kiss, and the controller dropped to the table as he pulled her into him, this vibrant girl who pushed him and punched him and kissed him, who brought him to his knees with passion and frustration, who gave him the deepest terrors he'd ever experienced, who walked the edges of the universe and life and could always pull him back, and who above all, stayed. "Don't," she breathed against him. "Don't tell me. Don't make me make that choice. I can't. So don't give it."

The Doctor's throat caught, her lips resting against it. "I see."

"Good." Buffy lingered in his arms, listening to his pulses, her lips thin, before pulling away, squeezing his hand.

"It'll be a little while, I have to run a test or two before I send us through. Maybe an hour?" The Doctor stammered, running his other hand through his hair. Buffy smiled and broke contact.

"Sure. I'll go tell the team." With a nod, she turned and left him alone in the storage closet. The Doctor watched her go with a sigh, sitting back on the stool and sticking a hand in his jacket pocket, closing his eyes as his fingers touched thin metal.

The earring was warm in his pocket as he took it out. Someone had dropped it at that doomed party; he'd picked it up as something shiny and lost, he always had a weakness for that sort of thing. It had been in the TARDIS that day, safe from the draw of the void; he hadn't even remembered it until he took out the dinner jacket again to go with Martha to that reception. His cheeks flushed with the memory, when he'd realized what he should have told Rose to do, how he could have kept her safe, the pain and emptiness in his gut as he replayed the scene in his mind once again. Ever since he'd kept the tiny white gold hoop in his pocket, a reminder and a keepsake. The next morning he'd invited Martha to stay with him.

It sparkled in his palm, carbon from yet another universe, carbon vibrating at just the right frequency.

The portal was but a pinprick, but the Doctor pulled a mobile out, and sure enough, the Cybus Industries – now Tyler Industries – logo popped up on its screen. Getting the number was the effort of a few button presses.

"Hello."

"Hello, is this Jackie Tyler?" Small mercy, his voice didn't crack.

"Yes, who's this? This number's not listed, y'know, if you're a telemarketer or a lobbyist I'll set my husband after you."

"I was wondering if Rose was there, Jackie." He heard a glass crash to the floor, and in the distance, a small child began crying.

"You?! Are you here?"

"No, Jackie. But is Rose?" The Doctor loosened his collar around his neck.

"Sure. Sure! How is this - oh, just explain it to her, she'll go on about nothing else for days." The phone muffled for a moment, but not enough that he didn't hear the shout of "Rose Tyler get on the phone right now!"

One click was enough to make his hearts drop onto his stomach. "Hello, what's the matter?"

"Rose Tyler." Her name jumped off his tongue. The reply was hesitant and wary.

"Doctor?"

Tears threatened his eyelids. "The one and only. Hello." He kept his voice light and playful.

Her voice crackled. "It's been – my God, and now you're on the phone. Are you here?"

"No. Just a tiny crack here, enough for this signal, nothing more." He smiled. "More stable, but not quite so dramatic as last time, I'm afraid."

"Too right." Rose hiccupped. "It's been a long five years."

"That many?"

"Oh, sure it wasn't so long for you. Marauding across the stars, getting into trouble, time passes like nothing." She kept the banter up as well as he. "Speaking of which, how much have we got?"

"A while." He glanced at the door. "An hour maybe?"

"That's good, that's better," laughed Rose. "So, have you been alone? Probably not."

The Doctor swallowed. "There's been some guests. You'd have liked them." He regaled her with the story of how their last talk had been interrupted by Donna, to her peals of laughter as he described flying the TARDIS in traffic. Then he talked about Martha, and the trouble with the Master. "Oh, and Captain Jack's still alive, he joined up again to help us then. Runs the Torchwood here now, does some okay work."

"Oh that's wonderful. Give him a kiss for me." She paused. "Anyone else?"

Good old Rose, always willing to ask the hard question. "Her name's Buffy. Met her a little before we met up with Jack again. Popped right into the TARDIS, just like Donna. At least you always knocked."

"Yeah, not that I ever needed to. She's stayed with you a while then?"

"Yeah."

"She pretty?"

He couldn't remember his throat ever being so dry. "Yes." He paused. "And ever so very brave. She used to remind me of you."

Rose coughed. "And now?"

The Doctor tried to find the words. "You and her, you're both one of a kind. Comparisons aren't right. How about you? Anyone out there for you?"

The pause was short. "Fancied a couple. Been seeing a bloke this year, Daniel. American, works with Torchwood, he's an archaeologist. You'd get on with him."

"Bright blue eyes?"

He could hear her eyes widen over the connection. "You're sure you're not here?"

Shaking his head over the coincidences, he replied. "Yes, I'm sure. I'm also pretty sure I'd like him. Do you?"

Again her voice dropped. "A bit." She sighed. "More than a little."

He nodded. "Like I said, comparisons, not such a good thing."

They moved away from the topic, discussing her adventures with Torchwood, the TARDIS' ever continuing malfunctions, life with her new family, Mickey's recent divorce, Jack's immortality, all the things they'd been wanting to tell each other because somehow that helped make events real. Daniel cropped up in her stories, Buffy in his, but that didn't matter. The bond remained between them, but the time moved so quickly, and his eyes kept straying to the doorway.

"So, will you ring me up again?" It was intended playfully, but contained a note of hope. The Doctor shifted in his seat.

"I don't know. Not this way again. But Buffy keeps telling me that if I keep saying 'impossible' about what's in front of my eyes she's going to go shack up with Jack."

Rose laughed. "Good for her. I'm glad-" she stopped, and exhaled. "I hope she loves you too."

"Rose-"

"We know Doctor. Not that it's not nice to hear, but we know."

"I do love you."

"Yes. I know." She wasn't crying, and neither was he. "Thank you, for finding a way. Maybe we'll find another."

"I hope so Rose Tyler."

"I love you Doctor. We'll chat again soon." The phone clicked off, and the Doctor sat there, staring at the door until there was a knock, followed by Buffy and a hand truck.

"Everything's packed and the goodbye-committee is all set." Buffy sat her bag and the boxes next to the TARDIS. "Does it work?"

The Doctor took her hand. "Yes, yes it does."

Buffy moved closer to him. "Good. It's time to go home." He hugged her, burying his face in her hair, running his hands over her new, soft skin.

"I love you."

The Doctor felt her start. It lasted only a fraction of a second before she squeezed him. "I love you too Doctor."


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen 

The whole base turned out to see them off.

Doctor Frasier gave Buffy a few containers of the sedative that worked so well, and was teary eyed when Buffy hugged her and thanked her for saving her life. "I just wish all my patients recovered like you." The Doctor winked at Frasier and palmed a few vials into the physician's hand.

Fair and equal exchanges, of course.

Teal'c looked down on them, then bowed deeply. "Doctor, Buffy Summers, it was a pleasure to serve with you."

"It was a pleasure to watch you stare that idiot Simmons down," asserted Buffy.

"For me as well." Teal'c smiled and folded his hands. "May success follow you in all of your endeavors, and victory be your constant companion." He turned to the Doctor. "And may you continue to be a benevolent and cautious guardian of your universe. There are those who would call you a god. But you never demand your service. Her service is freely given. There is no higher honor, and my services are yours."

The Doctor grinned. "Thank you Teal'c. I deeply appreciate your offer, and respect your services as mighty indeed."

"Indeed," agreed Teal'c.

Major Carter was already glassy eyed. "I just, there's so much I still don't understand."

"Take a breath Sam. You'll get there." Buffy gripped the other woman's shoulder. "You saved us all in that ship. Thank you."

"Are you kidding?" Carter's eyes were wide.

"No, she's not." The Doctor pulled Carter into a hug. "We would be lost without you. Now you just go and be fantastic."

"Okay." Sam rocked back on her heels, just a little stunned.

Daniel could barely bring himself to look at Buffy. "So, you're leaving."

She nodded. "Yeah. It's been fun. And terrifying, but there was some fun too."

"And you've got all those language keys now." The Doctor shook Daniel's hand. "I wish you merry hell of them too. Those Ancients were a ponderous bunch."

"You know the myth of Asclepius?"

The Doctor had a lopsided smile. "Yeah."

"He was the first and greatest Doctor of the human race. He had this staff, this rod, and it represented rebirth and regeneration. The possibility of healing and change. Of human ingenuity and how to defy the gods." Daniel pushed his glasses back up his nose. "You don't have know where we might have gotten the idea of him, do you?"

Winking, the Doctor replied, "Why would you think I had anything to do with that?"

As the Doctor moved on towards Jack, Buffy stood up on her tip toes and gave Daniel a hug and a quick peck on the lips. "Be good," she chirped as she released him.

"Uh, okay." His voice cracked, and he reached for her hand. She squeezed it and gave him a sad smile. "We won't forget you."

"We surely won't." Jack wrapped Buffy in a giant bear hug, much more comfortable than the awkward small talk he'd been exchanging with the Doctor. He'd never trust the Doctor, but he knew that Buffy did, and that would have to be enough.

Buffy goosed his bottom. "I'll miss you Jack."

He stopped himself from shrieking or blushing, and moved back. "Buffy, Doctor, we're definitely going to miss you, and your mad ninja skills too."

The Doctor shook his hand, and Jack took it happily. "She'll be safe."

"I'm sure."

General Hammond offered the controller to the Doctor, then gave him his hand. "It has been a pleasure, Doctor, Miss Summers, you are always welcome here, should you ever find a way to return."

The Doctor grinned. "I'm not sure the NID would have the same to say. But who, knows, it could happen. Keep up the good work, General." He stood aside, and Buffy kissed the General's cheek.

"Thank you, General, for everything."

He blushed up to the top of his head. "As I said, Miss Summers, it was my pleasure."

Buffy unlocked the TARDIS while the Doctor fiddled with the controller. Finally satisfied, he handed it off to Carter. "Just press it, and the portal will open."

"Okay." She shook his hand one last time.

"People of the SGC. We bid you thanks, and adieu!"

Buffy poked her head out the door and waved as the Doctor moved in, "Take care!"

The door shut. Carter pressed the button, and the whole room seemed to phase for a moment. Then there was a wooshing of engines, and the TARDIS disappeared, leaving the storage closet empty, and somehow bereft.

Inside the TARDIS, Buffy cozied up next to the Doctor. "That was nice. We home?"

The Doctor checked his screen. "It appears we are. Good ol' my home universe." He frowned. "Have to come up with a better name for it."

Buffy moved behind him and squeezed. "Good plan. So, where are we headed next?"

The Doctor grinned.

* * *

FIN

_A/N: And that's it. Thanks so much to everyone who was reading and following and reviewing. It was so much fun to have you along for the ride. This last push was hard, but I wanted to read the end as bad as anyone else. I'm actually quite happy with it, finally proved that I could finish a story that I posted unfinished. Thanks again, you make writing a pleasure._


End file.
